Wow, I went to the US Festival with a buddy who was huge into The Dead. I was skeptical, but he knew my musical taste and my love of psychadelics, so he pushed me to go. We slept in the car, woke up, and of course we dosed. Most of the people there were still asleep, we walked in and got right in front of the stage. From the 1st note I was blown away, and hooked for life. Saw approx 100 live shows since. This is still the best Shakedown that I ever saw live.

This was the first of Wozniak's US Festivals - seen by some as a gift to fans by a fellow fan, and by others as dilettantism (and by almost nobody as the Apple Computers founder guy, since nobody yet knew what one was or what it did). Wozniak, in over his head, had buttonholed Graham, who added his faves reluctantly and for a truncated fee. The Dead were not a huge draw at the time. In a period where plenty of punters present presumed they had parted, it's not true that they "saved the festival" (they played all the time in SoCal anyway, albeit unannounced & unadvertised, as usual). There were myriad problems, just like the following year when The Clash headlined (this was the year with B52s, Talking Heads, & Police), but the Dead took the 9AM stage anyway for a relatively less-curtailed slot, launching a 45min, massively uptempo first set, into an unusual setlist. Whether influenced by the post-skinny tie LA New Wave or the candy necessary for the early call, n.b. that this was just a couple months before the likewise-speedy Monetgo Bay trainwreck - also a festival slot.

If played at a normal tempo and with routine jams, the first set would be as much as ½hr longer (and we wouldn't have this tersely unique appearance). It's reasonable to assume that the timed, morning slot, and the other types of bands on the bill (and the mostly non-Deadhead, still waking audience) influenced the atmosphere and caused the shake-up in style. The 1st Set is a conversion set, for the newbies, in front of a huge crowd - and it's a hoot. The 2nd set is "now we got 'em let's fuck with 'em". Bits and pieces used to circ as filler but rarely the whole show (in my circles, anyway). I've heard this was a typical Dead-in-a-festival trainwreck, and I've heard it's the best show of 82! Certainly a lot of SoCals say this was their lightbulb show. But when you mention Berdoo, talk quickly changes to Swing '77 don't it. Some think/mythologize otherwise, but there are plenty of examples where a short set was aces. Like this one.

First Set. Feel feel to be screwy, with a Playin' opener - it's actually pretty good, though the mix hadn't settled. By the 2nd jam of Shakedown, they get tight and fast. Minglewood is fire and smoke and Bobby's weird slide playing works as a haze against Jer's power chords and the '82 sound. The pace quickens again for a nailed Samson. China Cat is extremely uptempo, which changes Bobby and Brent's approaches more than the others. It's capped with a Rider for the fucking ages.

Second Set. Somehow they weren't as wound, coming back. But that means merely perfunctory renditions through Truckin' (Berdoo, NY, Detroit and it's all the same street; plus the dreaded/horribly dated sex change lyric). Then the old-school tricksters - a nicely mindbending Space to fuck with the newbie crowd. The intro for Not Fade is interesting and leads to the set's peak. '82 is an interesting year for Bobby's tone and style. U.S. Blues is played like a '74, but after Black Peter it's a downward spiral (I'm sure Satisfaction was a crowd-raiser in person - you had to be there).

1st Set:  A
2nd Set: C
Overall = 4 stars

Highlights:
Entire 1st Set - the mix takes awhile but it's one of the wildest rides ever
Space>Not Fade Away - you can almost taste the minds melting during this sequence

SOURCES: The miller.113746 is a patched, pitch-corrected and balance-and-levels fix of warner.5490. The miller.113726 is a mirror. The sirmick.87210 is a great AUD and a matrix from the pair would be terrific - and the only way to soften the distorted keys on the SBD.

The sound starts out a little off but kicks..maybe it was the excitement of the moment? They seem to settle in by China>Rider and show the crowd what they are all about. An interesting placement to open 2nd set with Sugaree and they play some songs the crowd will know like Truckin and Not Fadeaway. I do like the placement of the haunting Black Peter..keep the crowd guessing!! The double encore was nice and I think the satisfaction gave the audience something to chew on..Forever Grateful>Forever Dead

This is a short but intense show. The China Cat is movin' and just full of energy. Masterful job Mr. Miller. I highly recommend listening to this one.

Not only are you the Man(!), but R.I.P. CBM. I think I speak for most when I say your efforts are MOST APPRECIATED>

Opening band on Sunday at the US festival!! 9:30am. How cool is that? The band comes out with some high energy and keeps it going the whole show! This show is packed with jams like a Snickers bar is packed with peanuts!!! Nice soundboard as well. Sorry about the loss of your sister Charlie.